“The material in this book proves that fact is often more jaw-droppingly stranger than fiction,” explains Mervyn Edwards in the introduction to his new book.

“But what,” he adds, “is fact in any case?”

In Secret Newcastle-under-Lyme, Mervyn’s latest local history book, the author blends the serious with the not-so-serious, revealing the town’s hidden secrets.

Mervyn, of Wolstanton, writes: “Often, this book will feature aspects of history that are just too plain daft, odd or eyebrow-raising to have been included in other published works. Yet such items tell us much about society in days gone by.

“The readers’ letters and editorial columns of 19th-century newspapers often offer a different perspective on news stories of the day.

“Then there is the matter of oral testimony. It is through the memories of older people that we can at least try to glean information that has gone unrecorded by historians.”

The front cover of Secret Newcastle-under-Lyme by Mervyn Edwards

Split into sections, the book covers subjects ranging from industry to health, shops and education.

The latest title from publisher Amberley’s ‘Secret’ history series, it also includes an array of fascinating old photographs, including one of Clemson’s cash drapers in Red Lion Square, pictured around 1905.

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Comparing Newcastle’s much-maligned Fine Fare store to the arcade, Mervyn writes: “In many respects, it was the 1980s version of the Market Arcade of 1963 – an attempt to combine high street shopping with superstore shopping in the town centre. And, like the 1963 building, it was big, brash, functional and out of synch with the rest of the town.”